Climate change

Tackling climate change is critical to a sustainable future. 2016 was the hottest year on record and impacts such as drought, sea level rise and more erratic storms are already taking hold. People around the world are experiencing food shortages, massive displacement and risks to their livelihoods and lives.

India: With UNDP, the Government of India has been expanding the use of solar energy to power industries (transportation, steel manufacturing, etc.) as well as ensure the provision of social services at hospitals and schools.

Turkmenistan: In Turkmenistan, UNDP and the Adaptation Fund support water management by planting juniper trees and digging both irrigation canals and traditional ‘sarbods’ to hold water.

Morocco: In Morocco, local women’s cooperatives are supported to harvest Argan seeds and produce Argan oil and associated products. This has helped climate-impacted communities to protect ecosystems and diversify livelihoods.

The adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 set the world on an ambitious and critical path toward resilient and zero-carbon development. Besides contributing directly to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13, action on climate change addresses many other SDGs. After all, we will not ensure food security without protecting our crops from drought; we will not have sustainable cities and communities without protecting our infrastructure from storms; and we cannot ensure children are healthy without addressing the increasing vector-borne diseases due to changing temperatures.

As the largest implementer of climate action in the UN System, UNDP works with countries to turn their climate goals into action. At the heart of this is our post-Paris climate commitment [CM1] and our support for designing and delivering ambitious climate plans, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), that pave the way toward a more sustainable world for all.